Perry Vetoes Measures That Would Have Helped Rural Hospitals Hire Doctorsfrom Lubbock Online, June 23, 2009Cindy Wetzel is disappointed. Wetzel, chief nursing officer of Plainveiw-based Regence Health Network, which operates seven medical and dental clinics in the South Plains and the Panhandle, was counting on House Bill 3485 to become law because the proposed legislation would have allowed hospitals in counties with less than 50,000 residents - like Hale County - to have doctors on the payroll. More

Few Texans Qualify for State Funding to Keep Medically Fragile at Homefrom The Dallas Morning News, June 20, 2009Toby Simmons' disabilities were so severe that he couldn't breathe or swallow without help. For the first two decades of his life, he received around-the-clock nursing care in his foster mother's home. But when he turned 21 and aged out of the children's health program that paid for the care, the state said it was too costly to keep him at home. The state's solution? An institution. More

Community Health Systems, Inc. is the largest publicly-traded hospital company in the United States and a leading operator of general acute care hospitals in non-urban and mid-size markets throughout the country. Through its subsidiaries, the Company currently owns, leases or operates 121 hospitals in 29 states. More Info

How to Talk to Your Health Care Practitionerfrom The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 22, 2009Good communication between you and your health care practitioners – the physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants and other health care professionals you see – is essential to good care. It's important that you give your practitioner the information about yourself and your health that he or she needs to provide quality care. And it's important that he or she explain what you need to do to stay as healthy as possible, in a way that is understood. More

An Interview With Atul Gawandefrom The Washington Post, June 23, 2009Atul Gawande's New Yorker article comparing the medical systems of El Paso and McAllen, Texas, has been a definitional piece in the health reform conversation. President Obama has repeatedly invoked it. Senators have talked about it. The media have embraced it. Ezra Klein of The Washington Post spoke to Gawande about the fallout from his article, the problem of revenue-driven medicine, and whether a public plan would make a difference. More

Administration: Hospitals Unwilling to Share Electronic Record Will Miss Out on Stimulus Fundsfrom The Dallas Morning News, June 24, 2009The Obama administration's point man on electronic medical records warned Tuesday that hospitals unwilling to share such files with their competitors would not be eligible for billions of dollars in economic stimulus funds. North Texas hospitals have talked for years about ways to share these records but have been unable to agree. Some participants in the discussions have said that's because of concerns they might lose patients to competing hospitals. More

Hotline Would Provide Pregnancy Infofrom Lubbock Online, June 24, 2009Texas Tech officials in Amarillo are working to create a unique hotline for women who have questions about how medications can affect pregnancy or nursing. Pregnant women or nursing mothers and their doctors or health providers will be able to call the center, give a technician basic facts and receive information on their medication's impact. More

GOP Senator Advocates Incentives for 'Healthy' Behaviorfrom Business & Media, June 24, 2009Coming soon: A check in the mail if you purchase the skim milk instead of the whole milk at your grocery store? That sort of sounded like what Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas is advocating as an alternative to some of the more costly solutions proposed by President Barack Obama and his surrogates. More

Editorial: Health Insurance for All U.S. Children Would be a Bargain, Study Findsfrom The Houston Chronicle, June 23, 2009Some things make so much sense they shouldn't need explaining. Take children's health insurance. If it leads to better outcomes for kids, their families, their communities and the economy in general, and if it's been shown to be substantially cheaper than the alternative, isn't it worth serious consideration? More

Heart Attack Prevention Bill Mandating CAD Screening Passes Quietly in Texasfrom Medscape Today, June 23, 2009While wading through reams of other bills and paperwork awaiting his attention, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed off on the controversial Texas Heart Attack Prevention Bill, mandating health-benefit plans to provide coverage for certain screening tests for early coronary artery disease. According to Michael Gray, a staffer for the bill's champion Rep. Rene Oliveira, D- Brownsville, the bill was first amended to exclude select coverage plans, enabling it to pass the House, then amended to include a provision that offers state-sponsored bariatric surgery for morbidly obese state employees under specific circumstances. More

$16 Million Secured for Texas A&M Health Sciences Centerfrom The Austin Business Journal, June 22, 2009With Gov. Rick Perry's signing of the state budget, the Texas A&M Health Science Center has secured an additional $16 million for continued expansion of its College of Medicine over the next two years. The HSC campuses in Bryan-College Station and Temple, along with the new Round Rock campus set to open in fall 2009, will benefit from the infusion. A total of $45 million will support the college's growth during the next two years. More

The articles in The Texas Medical Association Weekly Headlines are chosen from a variety of sources, Texas and national, to reflect media coverage of the medical profession and health care issues. Publication of any article does not imply that TMA has endorsed or supports its contents.

This edition of the TMA Weekly Headlines was sent to ##Email##. To unsubscribe, click here.